The BBC Learning English web page gives some great vocabulary for “journalism.” Have a look at the page and try to learn some of the words. You never know when these words and phrases might come in useful in your IELTS exam!! Click here to visit the site.

IELTS candidates should be aware that 99% of English language learners need to work on their pronunciation. This pronunciation practice is not something that should be done just before the IELTS exam – it should be started months before!! Poor pronunciation in the IELTS speaking exam might ruin your chances of getting the highest IELTS band score you can.
When you learn a new item of vocabulary, you should learn more than its meaning. You should also try to learn how to say it. This is not difficult, even if you don’t have “access” to a native speaker. Many students ignore the phonetic transcription of words in dictionaries. They read the definition and then move on. A good dictionary will explain how to pronounce a word by using a phonetic transcription e.g. /ˈɪŋglɪʃ/. Students need to understand this system of transcription to understand the pronunciation of a word but good dictionaries provide a key to help. It is well-worth the effort becoming familiar with this system. When you learn a word, you can easily learn how to pronounce it right from the beginning. A simple chart to help you can be found here.

Many students find it useful to hear a new word pronounced and the Internet provides many resources for this. A great site for pronunciation help is www.howjsay.com. You can type in a word and hear it said. This provides a great opportunity to repeat the word. You can even translate the word into your language so you can be sure of the meaning.

It’s important to remember that in the IELTS speaking exam, you aren’t penalised for having an accent. We all have an accent when speaking English. IELTS candidates should try to avoid pronunciation errors that might stop easy understanding of what you are saying. These errors are usually mispronounced words and words that most people from your country pronounce incorrectly when speaking English. This is why learning the pronunciation of new words is so important.

About me

My name is Stephen Taylor and I have been teaching English as a foreign language for over20 years and have helped over 22 different nationalities improve their English language skills. I understand how important a good band score in the IELTS exam is and I know how to help you achieve your target grade.